Why I Love Camping in Algonquin Park

This was supposed to be a Five on Friday post with Amy of Love Made My Home, but either Blogger or my computer is messing around with me yesterday and today, and I've been having a heck of a time loading photos!!!!! So aggravating!!! So I won't be linking up, as the deadline for that is past, but here's the post anyway, if anyone is interested ... at this point I'm ready to throw this *@# computer under the bus.

As many of you know, I've been camping with my family for many years. It started with my own parents taking us camping for our holidays, back in the '60s and '70s. We would camp throughout Ontario, but we also took one trip out to the east coast, and then another trip all across Canada to Vancouver ... all the while pulling a little tent trailer for the six of us. I still remember seeing the totems in Stanley Park, Vancouver when I was only 5 years old. I loved camping as a child ... playing in the woods, swimming at the beach and sitting around the campfire.

Of course you can click on any of these photos to see them larger.

My sister and I (I'm in back) being towed in our collapsible kayak
(late 1960s)

At the beach with my siblings ... I'm second from right

My husband and I have been taking our kids camping for almost 20 years now. For my "five" this week are the biggest reasons why I love camping in Algonquin Park:

1. The lush forests ... everything is so green, so alive!  Even the deadfall is doing its part in sprouting new life into the forests. I love the tender moss, and the swaying ferns, and the way the sunlight through the trees dapples everything so perfectly. Some forests are bright and cheery ...

... while others are very dark and mysterious like this boggy forest of black spruce ...

2. The waterways through the woods, and the beautiful lakes. The hikes that we go on often pass by rocky streams, many of which were dammed and used by loggers in the very early days.

3. Canoeing with my son and husband. Now that we have a much lighter canoe, we are able to portage a little further and experience new areas of the parks.

My son having a little fun paddling over a beaver dam ... 

we weren't so lucky with the canoe, and had to get out
on top of the rather unstable dam and drag the canoe over

Cody tolerates canoe rides, but he'd really rather be walking.
He takes every opportunity to try to hop out of the canoe when we get close to solid ground,
which gets annoying really fast ;)

4. Our little trailer! This is our second trailer ... a hard-sided trailer with a pop-out bed on one end and bunk beds on the other, kitchen in the middle. It's not huge compared to some, but at 21 feet long it's big enough for us, and a lot more manageable to back it in between the trees at our campsites. It's nice to be in a trailer when it rains too ... and yes, we have a TV with DVD player to watch movies during inclement weather. We were quite cozy and snug in here for a few days of camping this summer, and you can see that I even bought a little candle to cozy it up even more!

one end with pop-out bed and our kitchen table

opposite end with bunk beds behind the curtain, bathroom (we never hook up with water)
behind the door, and our kitchen in the middle

Bathroom is behind that door, you can see the stove/oven and the sink. 

Cody has his own spot, and my mom's
woven mats make a colourful addition

5. The critters we see ... both big ...

This black bear is letting us know moose and deer are not the only big animals to
watch out for along the highway!

... and small

we always see weird and wonderful bugs!

(squeeeeeeze....) 6. All the little bits in between!

After a sudden rainstorm alongside Costello Creek/Lake Opeongo

Thanks for stopping by!

Wendy

(sorry Amy!!)

Making time for tea ;)